InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love's Smirking Revenge ❯ The Sound Of One Hand Slapping ( Chapter 7 )

Love's Smirking Revenge

- Chapter Seven -

The Sound of One Hand Slapping

It'd been two weeks. Two weeks of scanning page six for scathing articles. Two weeks of casually strolling past the Asahi Shimbun building hoping to catch a glance of her. Two weeks of wondering when and if he'd ever hear from her again. He couldn't understand why not hearing from her bothered him so much. He definitely wasn't interested in her, not even remotely. Though that thought was little comfort when he lay awake at night, staring at the ceiling, after having just awoken from yet another racy dream.

He couldn't seem to get the broad out of his head, and it wasn't for a lack of trying. He'd done everything from cold showers to aversion therapy to forget about her but it just wasn't happening. She'd sunk her talons into him and was refusing to let go. This was exactly why he didn't date. Women were all the same, expensive, annoying and definitely more trouble than they were worth.

It was with that resounding thought that the Detective swallowed the last of his acrid smelling coffee, grimacing at the grainy feeling of the grinds as they slipped down his throat. He settled the cup into its cheap china saucer with a clatter and motioned to the waitress for more. He had to sober up a little before heading in to work. Drinking like a fish, that'd been another method he'd tried but it hadn't worked a jot. Actually, he was pretty certain that drinking seemed to make it worse.

While waiting for his coffee he eyed the steps leading up to the Asahi Shimbun building. People in expensive suits carrying leather briefcases and overflowing with self-importance strutted up the stairs, while a steady stream of shabbier looking folk trailed down them. Lawyers and informants, he thought. Every paper had its retinue of low life scum willing to hawk stories for whatever they could get. The right these people had to anonymity pissed him off to no end. Every time he'd get a half decent lead it always ended with the same old line - “I'm not at liberty to reveal my sources.” Keh!

His eyes lingered on the stairs, studying the bodies walking in and out. She's not there. The thought slip out before he could stop it and only served to aggravate him more. It wasn't like he was looking for her or anything. It was merely a coincidence that he decided to stop in at the only shop in Tokyo that served burnt coffee at 7 AM. The fact that it was located directly across from where she worked had absolutely nothing to do with it.

He scowled out the window and turned moodily to watch the waitress pour him another cup of steaming bitter brew. She offered him a sympathetic smile as she eased the bill onto the table, slipping it discretely beneath the edge of the saucer. He glared at it and she quickly scampered away to clean tables on the other side of the restaurant.

Glancing at the total he snorted and threw a 1000 yen note down onto the table. 400 yen for a cup of coffee was practically highway robbery! Damn Americans and their damn expensive coffee…

His body froze in the middle of shoving his overstuffed walled into his back pocket. Across the street he saw a face he recognized all too well strolling down the steps of the news building. Dressed in fitted turquoise sweater and a snug black skirt that hugged her in every right way, she looked incredible.

The Detective swallowed hard and eased his body down onto the imitation leather bench seat. He'd tried to convince himself that there was nothing special about her, nothing that made her worth thinking about as much as he had, but he'd just proven himself entirely wrong. He watched her wave to someone at the bottom of the stairs and noticed her smile grow wider.

Curious, he leaned forward and tried to see through the crowd of bodies huddled together on the sidewalk. He `tsk'ed in frustration - there were just too many people milling about for him to see clearly. Who could she be meeting this early in the morning? An informant maybe? It had to be an informant. He pushed the nagging voice that asked why he cared out of his head while his eyes remained stubbornly glued to the scene across the street.

His chest tightened when she brushed a handful of windswept hair behind her ear and laughed flirtatiously at something her “date” said. The bitter wave of jealousy that washed over him was entirely unexpected and he found himself digging his claws into the seat just to ride it out.

When the crowd parted and leaned in and got his first good look at her “date”. The growl that rose into the back of his throat was automatic and had the patrons closest to him staring wide-eyed in his direction. Ignoring them, he angrily shoved his arms into his leather jacket and downed what was left of his coffee in one swift gulp.

He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do, but he refused to sit on the sidelines for this one. She could have her choice of any guy in the city - why the hell did it have to be him?

xXx

Kagome laughed brightly at her date's joke and took a delicate sip of tea from the warm cup between her hands. As she listened to him place their breakfast order with the waitress she couldn't stop her eyes from travelling over the contours of his face. With his dark colouring and flawless olive complexion he was certainly attractive in his own way.

He's the epitome of tall, dark and handsome, she reminded herself. If that's true, why can't I convince myself to like him?

The question hung heavy on her mind and she took another sip of tea to hide her frown. He was charming, smart, successful and attractive. He was all the things she told herself she wanted in a man, and yet there was no spark. Her heart didn't flutter when he gave her a charismatic grin and the compliments he laid at her feet couldn't even bring the slightest blush to her cheeks. As much as she hated to admit it, the only one who'd been able to stir those feelings in her was the exact person she was doing her best to avoid.

The loud mouth, arrogant, sloppy and completely insensitive Detective (who was completely wrong for her in every way) had occupied her mind no less than every waking hour for the past two weeks. After that stunt he'd pulled in the elevator she'd thought he might have had the decency to at least apologize, but so far she hadn't heard a peep.

“Higurashi? Is something wrong?”

Glancing up at her date's confused and slightly troubled expression, she quickly shook her head and laughed lightly. “Oh don't worry about me, I'm just a little chilly,” she lied with a false smile and rubbed her arms.

Without hesitating he snatched his coat from the stand and carefully draped it over her shoulders. She pulled it in close to her body as he settled himself across from her. The jacket still held his warmth and it felt comforting wrapped around other, almost like a hug. It reminded her of how the Detective's arms had felt. They'd been warm too; warm and powerful and perfectly safe...

Determined to forget the Detective, at least for the next hour or so, she focused on the man across from her. He was telling her a story about one of his collars. It was interesting enough and he was a good storyteller, charismatic and engaging. She nodded pleasantly and injected exclamations at the appropriate moments, but none of it was real. She was bored.

This is what a normal date is supposed to feel like, she reminded herself. Her date, or dates rather, with the Detective had been anything but conventional, but she never would've called them boring. For all of his griping, huffing and snarky remarks he'd actually been intriguing. She wanted to know what made a man like him tick, what drove him to wake up each morning. He was a puzzle she was just itching to get her hands on.

…But he hadn't called and he wouldn't call. As breakfast arrived she stared down at her plate of rolled egg and fresh fruit without the slightest hint of an appetite.

“Say, Kouga,” she began sweetly, looking up from where she was playing with her slowly cooling eggs. He looked up and waited for her to continue.

“How well do you know Detective Takahashi?”

He cocked an eyebrow at her question and she averted her gaze back down to her plate, hoping he couldn't see the blush that'd risen to her cheeks. He took a sip from his coffee cup before answering and she noticed the funny way the grease on his fingertips left perfectly circular impressions on the pristine white china.

“I know him as well as I need to. Why do you wanna know about him?” His cobalt eyes flashed with curiosity and she offered a faint shrug. Twirling her fork between her fingers, she carefully planned out her next words.

“He and I are working together on a case and I like to know as much as I can about my colleagues,” she lied. It was so easy to lie to him. He gave her an indifferent shrug and shovelled a fork full of egg into his mouth.

“You've met him. He's arrogant, rude, he doesn't think before he says anything, he's completely inconsiderate of everyone else around him, and he's about as loyal as they come.”

Kagome looked up in surprise. Wait…was that a compliment? Everything else she knew already, but Takahashi loyal? That was unexpected.

Seeing her surprise Kouga put his fork down, realizing that some explanation was probably in order. “Look, Takahashi has himself his own set of problems. He's not perfect, Hell none of us are, but he's not really a bad guy. I just like to bust his balls and he does the same to me.” He shrugged his shoulders lightly and took a perfunctory sip of coffee.

“It's a mutual love-hate thing. He may be a little unorthodox but I can tell ya one thing, if I were ever in a shootout he's the only person I'd trust to cover my back.”

“So he saved your life did he?” she interjected, without missing a beat.

Kouga shrugged one shoulder in a hapless gesture and a wry smile came to his lips. “Yeah. I've still got the bullet in my shoulder to prove it. The stupid son-of-a-bitch stepped in and pushed me out of the way. He took the bullet right to the chest.”

He took another sip of coffee and shook his head, his eyes darkening with distant memories. Kagome mulled over this new impression of the Detective. Kouga seemed to have a decent head on his shoulders. If what he was saying was true, perhaps the Detective wasn't such a waste of space. It didn't change the fact that she thought he was a world class jerk, but at least now she knew he had some redeeming qualities.

“He must've come close to dying, taking a bullet like that?” she wagered.

Kouga wore a secretive smile as he answered, “Something as small as a bullet can't take him down. You've gotta have a lot more firepower than that to knock off someone like him.”

Kagome blinked at him in confusion. What the hell was he talking about? She'd felt Takahashi's body. He wasn't fitted with metal plating beneath his skin. He was just as human as everyone else! Being heroic was one thing, but thinking that you could easily stop a bullet with your body and live to tell about it was just plain stupid.

So he is an idiot after all… They're both idiots! she reasoned.

“So what does he hide under that hat? A bullet proof vest?” she tried to pass it off as a joke, but Kouga's knowing look told her he'd seen right through her. He chuckled to himself as he picked up his fork and piled it high with more egg.

“So that's what this is about. He hasn't told you yet, has he?”

Kagome's eyebrows knit together. “Told me what?”

“He's a-”

Kouga never had the chance to finish. In front of her eyes he was wrenched up from his seat by his collar.

“Finish that sentence and the next thing you eat will be my fist!”

Kagome gaped at the Detective who had one fist twisted into Kouga's shirt and his other clenched into a ready fist. He looked positively murderous.

“If you don't let go of my shirt you're gonna be missing a hand,” Kouga shot back, unfazed. His eyes glanced between the fist aimed at his jaw and the nervous restaurant patrons. Inuyasha seemed completely oblivious to the scene he was creating.

Her momentary shock at seeing the Detective was quickly replaced by anger. How dare he follow her and then make a scene? Especially after how he'd treated her the last time! Bracing her hands atop the table, she stood up and fixed the Detective with a glare that promised worlds of pain and suffering.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?” she hissed.

He turned on her and practically snarled in her face, “Me? What the hell are you doing here with this flea bag?!”

Kagome inwardly cringed at his tone. He was looking at her like she'd committed some kind of heinous crime by having breakfast with Kouga. She crossed her arms in front her chest and arched a contentious eyebrow. Whatever thoughts she'd had about the Detective possibly being a half decent guy were rapidly disappearing.

Kouga took advantage of Inuyasha's momentary lapse in concentration and wrenched his shirt out of his grasp. Everyone in the restaurant seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Straightening his collar he shot him a lethal glare and balled his own hands into fists. Realizing that if she didn't step in soon there would be a full out brawl across her breakfast table, Kagome stepped between them, facing Kouga since he seemed to be the more rational of the two.

Seeing that she was determined to beat some sense into the Detective herself he reluctantly backed off and settled himself once more at the table. Uttering a short-lived sigh of relief, she smiled gratefully and then turned her attention to the dour faced Detective looming behind her. He looked about ready to leap over her and throttle Kouga where he sat. Instead she grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him out the door.

The crisp morning air sent an involuntary shiver down her spine and she instantly regretted leaving Kouga's jacket behind. Spying an alleyway a few feet away, she guided the Detective inside with every intention of making her point short and sweet.

His eyes blazed with resentment as she stared him down. He wasn't remorseful in the least. He didn't care that he'd ruined her breakfast, interrupted her date, embarrassed both her and Kouga in front of an entire restaurant of people, or that he'd made a scene. He just didn't care. His eyes told her that loud and clear.

Her reaction was instinctive and had she thought about it for longer than a half-second she probably would've decided against it, but as it was she was too upset to think logically. Needing to lash out at him in some way, she slapped him across the face - hard enough that his head snapped sharply to the side.

The slap echoed down the alleyway and she hastily stepped away from him, not sure what to expect. He was so unpredictable she couldn't even be sure if he was the kind of man who wouldn't hit back. She watched anxiously as his hand came up and thoughtfully stroked at the slowly reddening handprint on his cheek. He turned to look at her and she was surprised to see that the rage had dissipated from his eyes. They lingered on her and she shifted uncomfortably. What was he looking at her like that for? She wished he'd open his big mouth and say something stupid. She really needed to yell and scream because the silence was beginning to scare her.

“You're strong for a girl,” was all he said before gingerly shifting his jaw side to side to make sure everything was still in place. Kagome threw her hands up in the air and paced back and forth in front of him.

“Seriously?! That's all you have to say?”

“What do you want me to say?” He leaned back against the wall and gave her an arrogant look. She was tempted to slap him again but had an inkling he probably wouldn't let her get away with it a second time. She heaved a frustrated sigh and scowled at him.

“An apology would be nice. How about a `Hey Higurashi, sorry for ruining your breakfast date. I'm a complete asshole!'”

“Is that what you want me to tell you?”

“You arrogant son-of-a-bitch. I really hate you, you know that?”

Convinced that trying to get anywhere with him was a lost cause, she marched to the end of the alley and looked longingly down the street at the restaurant. She rubbed her arms through her sweater and shivered. As she stood there, debating whether to have at him some more or go back inside, the heavy weight of a jacket settled atop her shoulders. She recognized it for the peace offering that it was and turned slowly towards him.

Takahashi…just what the hell am I going to do with you?

“You didn't have to go to him. You could've asked me what you wanted to know,” he said seriously. He rested his back against the aging brick wall and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans to keep them warm. He didn't look at her, choosing instead to keep his golden orbs fixed on the small patch of blue sky above their heads.

“I tried that,” she shot back. “You dumped me, literally, and went into hiding for two weeks.”

He `hmmed' at that and smirked, amused by something she'd said. Kagome's eyes darkened as she envisioned him picturing the very moment he ungracefully tossed her to the floor in the elevator.

“Does it really matter?” he asked a moment later, sounding defeated.

She nodded and waited while he mulled it over.

“I can't tell you,” he said finally. “Not yet anyways. I can't trust you.”

Her mouth fell open in surprise and then abruptly snapped shut. Her already bruised ego couldn't handle much more. Annoyed, she stormed to the edge of the sidewalk only to be brought up short when he added, “If you're thinking you'll just go and ask Kouga you should probably know he won't tell you either. He knows better.”

Exhaling a frustrated sigh, she whirled round and glared at his smug look.

“You know, I've had nothing but problems since the day I met you! Do me a real big favour and stay the hell out of my life.”

“Sure, no problem. There's nothing to keep me coming back anyways.”

His words had bite and she closed her eyes against the feeling that cut through her chest. She didn't care about him so why did this feel so hard? Why did it feel like she was making a mistake?

Slipping the jacket from her shoulders she discretely smelled it one last time before holding it out to him. He stalked towards her, stopping only once his face was within inches of hers. She could feel the warmth of his breath on the bridge of her nose and held her ground as he slowly wrapped his fingers around the jacket and took it from her grasp.

“See you around, Detective,” she said softly, stepping away.

He let her go and watched her retreat to the sidewalk. Once she turned the corner and was out of sight, he let out the breath he'd been holding. He took his time pulling on his jacket and then lingered, long enough to finish a cigarette, before heading out himself. Casting a long look at the café, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked in the opposite direction. He was determined to push all thoughts of Kagome Higurashi out of his mind but, as he was quickly realizing, that was easier said than done.